The forecast for Cold Toast is and for a week or so which is not great for van conversion work. Luckily, we live on wheels so the smols and I are pointing our snoots toward the wilderness of Athens, OH.
Recommendations for food, coffee, and relaxed hangout locations are very welcome. Also, hikes for two smols and an old.
#vanLife #ColdToast

The forecast calls for a few days of rain and snow so I found a deal on a sweet cabin in the Catskills. A hot shower, a clothes washer, a full kitchen, mains power, and a fiber net connection is ding dang lux!
Once the van is complete it'll be easier to weather these relatively mild storms.
In related news, I'm considering a big purchase: one of those 8 person canvas tents used at semi-permanent camps. I'd leave it up Spring through Fall and store it when I snowbird.
#VanLife #ColdToast

My van's roof-mount solar panels are back in Seattle so right now my only way to top up the power bank is via the main engine's alternator. This is more than enough when I'm driving a few hours each day but since I arrived at Cold Toast (a forest in upstate NY) I've been happily boondocking.
Idling the engine for 20 minutes charges the power bank about 5%. Each day I use about 30%.
Luckily, I have backups like a propane heater and a multi-fuel camping stove.
#VanLife #ColdToast

Just had the obligatory visit from state troopers called because some weirdo in a van (c'est moi!) started camping on private undeveloped land.
As soon as we cleared up that I'm the new owner they switched to asking whether they could pet the smol dogs and how many MPG I get with the van full loaded for boondocking.
Honestly, it was most low-key interaction I've had with police folks. I didn't know what to expect from rural troopers, having only dealt with the urban PDs. #ColdToast #VanLife

Since my plan changes every five minutes I'll just pin the most recent plan to my profile.
The land and the van seem to be constants but ~all else is a leaf in the wind.
#coldToast

Ok, I've started packing up tools and materials I won't need until I have some sort of shop space on the new land. The plan is to have that in place by early Summer but I expect 2025 to be chaotic for supply chains and prices so . Maybe it'll all live in a storage unit or shipping container while I hunker down on raw land.
#coldToast

It's a weird day when I'm happy to learn that water seeps through a specific patch of soil more quickly than a specific rate, but here I am.
#coldToast

Help, I've fallen into the world of DIY heat recovery ventilation. This video is a simple example for an apartment window but I'm interested in a similar build for a camper van destined for snowy Taconic mountain Winters.
https://youtu.be/gHoH0scUzRg
#coldToast #vanLife

Plan progress over the last two months (or four years, depending on how you count):
1) Decide to build a retirement cabin
2) Decide to first build a shed
3) Decide to even first-er build out a camper van
With this plan my builds will nicely increase in complexity and size. Eventually, I may build a nice shop which would, of course, be bigger than the cabin.
#coldToast

I'm in a hurry up and wait portion of my life and wanted a new topic to study and futz. There's an active hacker community around this cheap little radio handset and a well paved road for learning amateur radio techniques so here we go!
I have plans to live in a van while building a cabin so I like the idea of having interests that I can pursue when holed up during storms or other times when construction pauses.
#coldToast

Around the lot I might soon inhabit there are four or so piles like this one. I think they're three or four years old. Let's just say that I've watched a lot of videos about DIY saw milling.
#coldToast

Offer accepted.

Barring unexpected discoveries during due diligence, I will soon have the keys to a forest as frigid and bleak as my heart. Miles to go before I sleep, tho.
#coldToast

My Seattle home is named "Tasty Toast" because the walls are various tints of brown and it's well insulated. I jokingly referred to the new place as "Cold Toast" and the name stuck. I'm leaning into the idea of designing the built environment to communicate that it's a high cold rocky perch. A place to raise one's glass to cheer a moment of quiet in a fast era.
I was tagging this topic #hermitage but now I'll use #coldToast. Filter as you see fit.